1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for applying a freshness keeping agent bag to a package or container storing food or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for securing a freshness keeping agent bag to a packaging body for wrapping a food such as confectionery, coffee beans, soybean flour, grain powder, beans, rice, rice cakes, Chinese noodles, ham,sausage and other food products in such a manner that the food is wrapped with the freshness keeping agent bag applied to the inner surface of the wrapping member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, a food freshness keeping agent exemplified by an oxygen absorber and a drying agent has been arranged to be in the form of a small bag. A freshness keeping small bag of the type described above (sometimes simply referred to as "freshness keeping agent" hereinafter) has been unfixedly accommodated, together with the subject such as the food to be kept, in the wrapping bag.
Since the conventional freshness keeping agent has not been secured as described above, it may be erroneously identified as a food when opened and it may thereby be erroneously ingested by a consumer. In the case in which it is industrially used, the freshness keeping agent may be supplied together with a packaged food into a food processing machine in the operation of opening the package, which causes a critical problem. For example, in the case of coffee beans or other beans, the freshness keeping agent may be supplied, together with the beans, into a mill, causing the oxygen absorber to be powdered, and what is even worse, the freshness keeping agent may be cooked together with the beans.
Therefore, a method of securing the freshness keeping agent to the package body or wrapping bag has been studied. For example, a method, in which the sealing portion of the freshness keeping agent bag is held in the sealing portion of the wrapping bag, has been proposed. However, a method of the type described above raises a problem in that a stepped portion is undesirably formed in the sealing portion of the wrapping bag. Therefore, sealing pressure cannot be uniformly applied to the sealing portion, causing unsatisfactory sealing strength to be obtained, and airtightness cannot be achieved.
It might be considered feasible to employ a method in which an adhesive is applied to the freshness keeping agent or a hot-melt adhesive is dripped to the surface of the same so as to be directly pasted to the inner surface of the packaging member. Although the above-described method is a simple method, the operation must be completed manually and it cannot be automated.